Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye told a group that included dozens of coal miners that a deal is coming this week to keep the Navajo Generating Station on the reservation through 2019, when the plant is threatened to close.

Mine employees and officials talk about the possible closure of the Kayenta Mine. Mark Henle/azcentral.com

Arizona utility regulator Andy Tobin is urging increased support from state utilities and the federal government to help keep the Navajo Generating Station coal-fired power plant running.(Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic)

Dozens of coal miners cheered Monday when Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye told them a deal to keep a coal plant on the reservation running through 2019 would come this week.

Begaye spoke in Phoenix at the first of four public forums on the future of the Navajo Generating Station this week. Approximately 70 coal workers were bused to the venue from across northern Arizona. About 100 people attended the meeting.

Begaye said he and Salt River Project, one of the plant's owners and its operator, have reached a temporary lease-extension agreement and will announce a deal this week. The deal would keep the plant open until 2020, and he hopes to find new owners to run the plant at least another nine years after that.

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The coal plant and Kayenta Mine, which supplies it, have been threatened with closure as soon as this year because the utility owners have concluded it is cheaper to buy electricity from natural gas-fired power plants.

SRP has said it will close the plant this year if a new lease with the Navajo Nation can't be approved by July 1. SRP said it needs the time to decommission the plant and get off Navajo property by 2019. With the extension, the utilities buy more time to run the plant before they either convey it to new owners or begin tearing it down.

SRP has scheduled a meeting Thursday for its elected board members to consider the lease, which must be approved by the utility's board as well as the Navajo tribal council.

Begaye's office anticipates a special session of the Navajo Nation Council to consider the lease.

Coal plant, mine vital to tribes' economies

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The Navajo Generating Station 130 miles north of Flagstaff has been the center of environmental debate for almost 50 years. The plant was initially promoted in 1967 as a compromise to avoid building hydropower dams up- and downstream of the Grand Canyon. Mark Henle/The Republic

Experts debated the accuracy of those claims and whether additional dams would affect the canyon, considering Glen Canyon Dam already controlled the flow of water into the canyon and Lake Mead was downstream. Mark Henle/The Republic

But the Sierra Club didn’t necessarily want to see another coal plant built in the area. The group’s executive director, David Brower, had a tense exchange with Congressman Morris Udall in March 1967. Mark Henle/The Republic

Coal was already being shipped across northern Arizona in a slurry pipeline that traveled about 275 miles to the now-closed Mohave Generating Station. But because using slurry to transport coal required significant amounts of water, the coal for the Navajo plant was to be transported by train. And the train was electric to prevent air pollution across the region. Patrick Breen/The Republic

The Sierra Club wasn’t happy that the coal plant was built, either, as Brower said existing hydropower dams on the Colorado River could have done the job for which the coal plant was intended. The group continued to fight for environmental controls on coal plants across the region. David Wallace/The Republic

“No human activity other than war causes so much total destruction of the land,” said a May 23, 1971 anti-coal ad in The Arizona Republic sponsored by Sierra Club and other environmental groups. David Wallace/The Republic

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The plant and mine are vitally important to the economies of the Navajo and Hopi tribes in northern Arizona, together employing about 450 people, most Native Americans. Many of the speakers Monday conveyed that the operations are important to families as well.

"The mine has helped us and has changed our lives," said Myrata Cody, a truck driver at the mine who has worked in the industry for 37 years. She lives in Black Mesa near the mine.

Most environmentalists and others support the plant closing and suggest that the economic benefits of the plant and mine should be replaced with new solar or wind projects.

Jessica Keetso, 22, also lives near the mine, where her family raises sheep. She and her sister said that watering holes traditionally used by the family have dried up and they now must haul water for their livestock.

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Charlotte Begay, 64, of Shonto, Ariz., breaks up coal with a pickaxe at the public loadout facility at the Kayenta Mine on Feb. 4, 2017. The mine's sole customer is the Navajo Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant near Page, Ariz. If the power plant shuts down it not only would impact plant workers, but coal miners as well. Mark Henle/The Republic

Gary Benally of Chinle, Ariz., tosses a piece of coal at the public loadout facility in the Kayenta Mine, Ariz., on Feb. 4, 2017. The Navajo and Hopi tribes in northeast Arizona depend on the free coal provided by the mine's operator, Peabody Energy of St. Louis. Mark Henle/The Republic

Members of the Navajo and Hopi tribes gather free coal at the Kayenta Mine in Black Mesa, Ariz. The mine ships 240 rail cars of coal every day to the Navajo Generating Station. Together, the mine and the power plant employ 750 workers. With the future of the plant uncertain, many are wondering what will happen to the region's economy if the plant shuts down. Mark Henle/The Republic

Darryl Sahmea (right) searches for quality pieces of coal at the Kayenta Mine in Black Mesa, Ariz., on Feb. 4, 2017. Many Hopi and Navjo tribe members rely on the free coal to heat their homes with coal stoves in the winter months. Mark Henle/The Republic

Some people drive hundreds of miles for the free coal provided at the Kayenta Mine by the mine's operator, Peabody Energy of St. Louis. Pickup trucks dot the landscape at the public coal loadout facility on Feb. 4, 2017. Mark Henle/The Republic

Al Lomayestewa carries a large piece of coal back to his truck at the public loadout facility at the Kayenta Mine. Peabody Energy, the mine's operator, allows tribe members to take coal for free. Many rely on the free coal to hit their homes during the winter. Mark Henle/The Republic

Environmental Manager Marie Shepherd speaks during a meeting on Feb. 2, 2017, at the Kayenta Mine. The mine provides coal to the Navajo Generating Station in Page, Ariz. The coal-fired power plant ranks among the to;p in the country for carbon emissions. Mark Henle/The Republic

Lewis Pavinyama, a retired mine supervisor, built a $30,000 backyard rodeo arena with money he made working at the mine for 40 years. He's pictured here in his arena outside of Kykotsmovi Village, Ariz., on Feb. 3, 2017. Mark Henle/The Republic

Eric Bronston, an environmental analyst, speaks during a meeting on Feb. 2, 2017, at the Kayenta Mine in Black Mesa, Ariz. The mine provides coal to the Navajo Generating Station. The power plant is responsible for haze over the Grand Canyon and other national parks. Mark Henle/The Republic